How hockey team crushed mental hurdles in bronze-medal run

From wilting under pressure and conceding last minute goals to winning clutch morments, the Indian men's hockey team has come a long way.

And captain Harmanpreet Singh credits mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton and a three-day boot camp camp with Swiss adventurer Mike Horn for the fortitude that his players displayed during the campaign in Paris.

"Yes, definitely, the mental toughness of this side is totally different. We are a united bunch and we backed each other and motivated each other when chips were down," Harmanpreet told PTI after returning to the country on Saturday.

"From first to the last (game), we played as a unit and backed each other in search of the gold medal. Definitely Paddy Upton has a big role to play in this. Even the three-day camp with Mike Horn before the Olympics made our bond more strong. So mentally we were in a good space," he added.

Upton, who has previously also worked with the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team, came on board in June last year.

It was his idea to have a camp with Horn before the team made its way to Paris. The three-day stay in Swtzerland included activities like walking on a glacier with harnesses, cycling, climbing and rappelling down waterfalls.

The exercises were meant to foster team spirit and build a strong bond of trust among players.

Harmanpreet said all of it helped when the team was faced with nervy situations like the the quarter-final against Britain, when they were reduced to 10 men for more than 40 minutes after Amit Rohidas was red-carded for dangerous play.

The team didn't just manage to hold Britain to 1-1 in regulation time, they went on to win the shootout with star goalkeeper P R Sreejesh coming up with a brilliant performance.

It was a refreshing outcome for a side which had the reputation of conceding late goals.

Harmanpreet and his men managed to completely shed that image with the gritty show in Paris and Sreejesh could take a lot of credit for it thanks to his inspiring and reassuring presence in front of the goal-post.

The 36-year-old Keralite retired at the end of India's campaign after another memorable performance in the bronze playoff which India won 2-1 against Spain, another high-pressure game.

Harmanpreet, who exchanged his medal with Sreejesh on the podium just as he did in Tokyo, wants the veteran goalkeeper to continue for some more time but said he understands his close friend's desire to go out on a high.

"Sreejesh and I are like brothers, we have played together for long. Yes, I want him to continue playing for some more years but at the end of the day it's completely his personal decision and we should support it.

"He is a legend and Indian hockey will only benefit when he joins the Indian junior team as coach," he said.

Harmanpreet said they went to Paris eyeing gold and although that could not happen after their semifinals loss to Germany, a second consecutive bronze is something they can be proud of.

"It is a proud moment for us and India, a back-to-back bronze in hockey is a huge achievement and nothing is bigger than this. We really deserved it as we played really well, we targeted the gold medal and wanted to win the gold medal and bring it home.

"Unfortunately, we could not win the gold medal, the bronze medal is also a huge achievement. It is a special moment for all of us," he said.

• THE OLYMPICS, 2024